MO Department of Conservation offers safety tips for deer hunters

Christy Russell,
Young hunters harvested 11,118 deer during Missouri’s early youth portion of the 2023 deer hunting season, Oct. 28 and 29. With patience and guidance from his dad, Keever Schaning, age 6, harvested his first deer on his grandparent’s farm in Owensville on Sunday (Source: MDC)
Young hunters harvested 11,118 deer during Missouri’s early youth portion of the 2023 deer hunting season, Oct. 28 and 29, 2023. With patience and guidance from his dad, Keever Schaning, age 6, harvested his first deer on his grandparent’s farm in Owensville on Sunday. (Source: MDC)

(KBSI) – Saturday, November 11 marks the opening day of firearms deer season in Missouri.

Deputies with the Cape Girardeau County Sheriff’s Office want hunters to remember some general safety tips when going out hunting.

“Looking at our calen-deer, it’s opening rifle deer season this weekend. You wake up feeling like a million bucks, telling your significant other you love them deer-ly. Off you go, spending too much doe on gas, and you fill up on Star-bucks or perhaps Dunkin’ Doe-nuts and meet with your deerest friends at deer camp. It would be a good i-deer to go over proper safety.”

Safety tips from the Missouri Department of Conservation.

General Safety Tips

  • Identify your target as a legal deer before putting your finger on the trigger or drawing back your bow.
  • Be aware of what is behind your target.
  • Never shoot at sounds in the brush.
  • Wear a safety belt or harness while in a tree stand.
  • Let others know your exact hunting location and when you plan to return.

Firearms Safety Tips

  • Test your unloaded gun to make sure it is mechanically sound.
  • Wear both a hunter-orange hat and a hunter-orange shirt, vest, or coat when walking to and from your hunting location and while hunting.
  • Never climb a tree with a loaded gun.
  • Always point the gun in a safe direction.
  • Keep your finger off the trigger until you are ready to shoot.

Before you go afield

  • Practice with your stand at ground level, gradually going higher. Several Department shooting ranges and outdoor education centers have practice poles for free public use.
  • Know the proper technique for securing the stand to a tree.
  • Know how to use the stand properly.
  • Read the manufacturer’s warnings and instructions before each season.
  • Use stands that meet standards of the Treestand Manufacturer’s Association (TMA) rated for your weight and all gear or equipment you wear or have with you on the stand.

While you are hunting

  • Always use a fall arrest system that meets TMA standards, including a full-body harness rated for your weight and any gear attached to yourself.
  • Have the fall arrest system attached to the tree the entire time your feet are off the ground.
  • Always position yourself so that you step down onto your tree stand to test its stability.
  • Always use a haul line to raise and lower your gear, including unloaded firearms, bows, and arrows.
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